Latest additions to my KEM collection

[Chuqii]

It's been a good quarter for my KEM collection.  4 new 1st gen Neillite cases, two new clamshells, one new box and some awesome cards (Cameo (C342), Seascape (C87), Kent (C342), Pinochle (C140) and the one I still haven't found a name for, Cosmic Gas Earth (C140).   The business card is actually one of the cards from the Pinochle deck.

[52plusjoker]

Very nice indeed.

[Don Boyer]

I wonder to this day why they aren't still using the "stand-up" version of the two-deck box.  It just seems better designed for transporting - take them to a poker game, a picnic, etc.  In my time on Earth, the new decks I've seen only came in the two-deck sets with the flat boxes - the lids never stayed closed on them.

[Chuqii]

Beats me why they stopped making them.  I agree with you that those stand up boxes are just the right size.  I like the metal clamshells more overall, but they aren't the convenient size like the stand up boxes for carrying them around.

[Don Boyer]

Beats me why they stopped making them.  I agree with you that those stand up boxes are just the right size.  I like the metal clamshells more overall, but they aren't the convenient size like the stand up boxes for carrying them around.

You'd think that a company that specializes in making playing cards might take some interest in what's said about their fine products on a forum for people who BUY playing cards...    I'm telling you, at times I wonder if they realize we exist...

[PurpleIce]

It's been a good quarter for my KEM collection.  4 new 1st gen Neillite cases

This looks really cool! Can i get more information about these? Like how these came about?

[Chuqii]

Company was started in New York in 1934 or 1935 by the inventor of these plastic playing cards, Siegfried Klausner, and some other backers, including Ely Culbertson, a master self-promoter who who helped create the bridge craze of the 1930s and 1940s. Cards were sold in high-end department stores and jewelry stores at first.  Here are some of their 1937 ads from Esquire magazine.

[Chuqii]

Finally tracked down the name of this deck - Stratosphere

Of course, on the same page where I found the name for this deck, I found a reference to two other KEM decks that I didn't even know existed.  Which is frustrating, but exciting.

[Don Boyer]

Finally tracked down the name of this deck - Stratosphere

Of course, on the same page where I found the name for this deck, I found a reference to two other KEM decks that I didn't even know existed.  Which is frustrating, but exciting.

Isn't that always the way?    Solve one mystery, two more take its place, like a hydra's heads.

[Chuqii]

Two more finds.  Loving that clean Ace of Spades.

[Chuqii]

Here's a deck of WWII-era KEMs in a cardboard box with a notice about wartime conditions.  This is a Gamecock deck.

[Don Boyer]

Here's a deck of WWII-era KEMs in a cardboard box with a notice about wartime conditions.  This is a Gamecock deck.

I guess they were using Bakelite in the war effort.  That's got to be a rarity, right?

[Chuqii]

Not too rare.  One generally pops up every couple of months on ebay.

[Chuqii]

Harder and harder to find old KEM cards that I don't yet have, but here are a couple.

A double set of Gold Band cards in the original box.  First time I've ever seen the blue deck of these.  The Gold Band deck was only made in 1935, and was one of the original 4 KEM designs.  Just love that clean Ace of Spades with just "KEM Playing Cards".

And a set of the 1939 New York World's Fair cards from KEM.  The cards are stuck together and in terrible shape, but I'd never seen the case with the 1939 World's Fair emblem still intact.

[52plusjoker]

You are certainly the Kem expert. Keep it up!

[Don Boyer]

Harder and harder to find old KEM cards that I don't yet have, but here are a couple.

You're going to have to open a museum at some point... 

[Chuqii]

I think a website might be a little cheaper.  And would hopefully get more visits!

[Don Boyer]

I think a website might be a little cheaper.  And would hopefully get more visits!

Open both.  You can charge for a museum; it's not so easy to charge for a website.  The mechanics of it are simple, but the motivation would be lacking.

Imagine having actual Kem cards on display for people to touch, then demonstrating their washability!